Saturday, May 03, 2008

Plaschke on Scully


The World’s Best Sportswriter on the World’s Best Sports Talker

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ radio and TV announcer Vin Scully is 80. For 59 years his has been the voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers. His current contract is up at the end of the year. The Los Angeles Times' Bill Plaschke speculates about whether it will be renewed, and if so, on what terms will it be negotiated.

In part:

Let Scully announce only the home games. It's not ideal for Dodgers fans who still wish he worked every inning of every game on both television and radio, but it's better than the alternative.

A half of a season with Scully is better than a full season with anyone else.

Now, more than ever, the drought-stricken Dodgers need him.

Now, more than ever, a city with few sports or civic leaders worth trusting needs him.

Vin Scully has the only sports voice in this town that really matters, doesn't he?

Vin Scully is this city's last civic treasure that everyone still believes, isn't he?

This is why I reacted so swiftly to his innocuous quotes. This is perhaps why we all should listen to Scully the way we've never listened to him before.

He apparently won't retire after this year, but one day he will, and it will come sooner than we think, making every syllable worth cherishing.

Did you ever wish that a batter would foul off a couple of more pitches so Scully could finish telling a story before the end of the inning?

Did you ever hope the TV cameras would leave the field and capture a malted-milk-stained child in the stands, just so Scully could say something sweet about the kid?

With Scully in their ear, Dodgers fans are the only ones in the country who wait for their baseball games to turn into a history class or a Hallmark card.

And when something truly spectacular happens on the field? The next day at work, isn't somebody always asking, "How did Vinny describe it?"

Like nothing the Dodgers do is real until we hear it from him?

So we can relax now, he says he's staying. But make no mistake, he's also leaving.

His recent comments remind us that the voice of the dawning of baseball in Los Angeles has become a deep, glowing, wondrous sunset.

We need to sit still for a while and stare at it, embrace it, cling to it in hopes of keeping it there forever.

9 Moderated Comments:

Blogger Vigilante said...

Nice job, Emily! As always. Sunsets are always there, in front of us, aren't they?

5/03/2008 09:22:00 AM  
Blogger Utah Savage said...

Sorry Emily and Vig, anything sports related unless horses are involved leaves me cold. My loss I'm sure. if you were blogging about the Kentucky Derby, well, that would be a different story.

5/03/2008 03:30:00 PM  
Blogger Yellow Dog said...

Dodgers have won 8 in a row!

5/04/2008 07:02:00 AM  
Blogger Vigilante said...

Shhsssssssss!

5/04/2008 09:35:00 AM  
Blogger Utah Savage said...

Forget the Kentucky Derby, the put down another great horse because the run them too you and too hard on those fragile ankles. No more sporting events for me.

Vig, I'm asking a question at my place that I think you mihgt have answers to. Feel like dropping by?

5/04/2008 01:01:00 PM  
Blogger T.C. said...

Man, Vin Scully IS pure classic. Awesome.

5/04/2008 08:11:00 PM  
Blogger Utah Savage said...

Thanks Vig, you know what I mean.

5/05/2008 08:58:00 AM  
Blogger Boris said...

Looks like Yellow Dog put the hex on the Dodgers. The win streak is over.

5/05/2008 06:52:00 PM  
Blogger Petrosexual said...

Vinnie Scully deserves to be in the sportcasters' hall of fame. But David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 – April 23, 2007) beats the daylights out of Bill Plaschke.

5/06/2008 08:42:00 AM  

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